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Sunday, March 21, 2010

Healthcare Reform Passes

The votes have been cast and the House of Representatives have passed health reform. With the 219-to-212 vote the House gave approval to legislation passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve. The House also passed a package of fixes which would strip some of the more controversial provisions. It passed by a vote of 220 to 211.

The fix package must be passed by the Senate, which is expected to take it up this coming Tuesday. It is being moved forward under a parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation that circumvents the filibuster and so requires only 51 votes to pass. If the Senate makes any changes then it would go back to the House for final approval.